Gopro Hero3+ Black vs Gopro Hero3 Black, What’s New?

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Gopro has done it again! With the introduction of the new Gopro Hero3+ Black, they have taken something great and made it even better. While on the outside the Gopro Hero3 Black and Hero3+ Black may look almost identical, the inside has been greatly improved.

New Lens
The new f/2.8 lens is sharper and appears more contrasty with less distortion. Colour is improved and so has the camera’s dynamic range. GoPro claims a 33-percent improvement over the Hero3 Black.

Better Wifi
A new Wi-Fi chip inside the Hero3+ Black has improved speed making for smoother operation with the smartphone app or the included remote control. Previews on your iPhone or Android phone are smoother as are menu operations.

Better Battery!
While the Gopro Hero 3 Black was a great camera one of the few complaints about it was it’s relatively short battery life. The new Hero3 + addresses this problem with a new, higher capacity 1180mAh (4.37Wh) battery along with some software optimizations. The new battery and software enhancements give the Hero3+ Black a 30% improvement.

SuperView Is Super
The new video aspect ratio called SuperView in the Hero 3+ Black takes the 4:3 ratio that is the same as the image sensor and then conforms it to a 16:9 ratio for 1080p or 720p resolution. The conformation does not distort the image noticeably and the new view shows a lot more of the scene in the 16:9 aspect ratio.

Auto Low Light Mode
The new Auto Low Light mode automatically varies your frame-rate to give you improved low-light shooting. Slower frame rates allow more light, so if you’re shooting 1080p at 60fps, and there is not enough light on the sensor, the Gopro Hero3+ Black may automatically drop you down to 24fps, it’s lowest rate.

Over the Air Updates
New in the Gopro Hero 3+ Black is the ability to update your camera’s firmware wirelessly using the GoPro smartphone apps for iOS or Android. It’s no longer necessary to hook up the Gopro to your computer and manually download and install the new firmware. How convenient!

New Smaller, Better Case
To trim the bulk from the Gopro Hero3+ Black without shrinking the camera, Gopro designed a new waterproof housing that is 20-percent smaller and lighter but still watertight down to 131 feet (40 meters). While not reaching the depths of the previous Gopro case which goes down to 197 feet (60m) it is still perfectly usable for most people’s needs.

Shrinkage is not the only thing that happened to the Gopro case. The new housing fits snugger than the old model, meaning less chance of rattling. Add larger shutter/power and menu buttons that are easier to press and we have no complaints with the new case.

Better Sound
Gopro has redesigne the mics in the Hero 3+ for improved audio and recording. Mics are now situated on one side and on the top and have a noticeable reduction in extraneous noise.

The Good Stuff Is Still There
The new Hero 3+ Black retains the 4K @ 15fps or 2.7K @ 30FPS high resolutions so if you need the ultimate screen size for current and upcoming 4K screens, you will be ready.

Little Things Add Up To A Lot
All the new changes combined add up to a large improvement for the venerable Gopro Hero. While the camera looks similar to the previous iteration the internal changes make it a much better camera, especially the new faster f2.8 lens and more powerful battery.